83 Darkness

Though it wasn't impossible to find Ebony Glowshroom in crevasses and large areas of persistent shadow, the vast majority could only be found within the Monster Ant tunnels themselves.

The Monster Ant tunnels were a complex subterranean network that consisted of countless tunnels of various shapes and sizes. These came together to form a labyrinthine structure that, even after hundreds of years, had never been fully mapped.

Venturing into the tunnels required a completely different skill set than what was required to fight on the surface as, outside of the main channels, it was possible for even Linnaeus to graze the ceiling if he put enough strength into his legs. For those like Krone, the tunnels felt claustrophobic and, if he had been the type to rely on speed, rather than power, the complex labyrinthine structure would be a true hell.

For this reason, many Adventurers referred to the Monster Ant Colony's underground network as the 'Ant Hell', a place that represented a nightmare for both explorers and the Ants themselves. After all, these tunnels had served as the burial grounds for millions of Ants over the years, giving it a ghostly chill despite the palpable humidity.

It was this combination of darkness and humidity that made the tunnels a veritable paradise when it came to cultivating various fungi, many of which had bioluminescent properies. In fact, without these mushroom colonies, visibility within the tunnels would be an absolute nightmare as, without [Night Vision], or a related Skill, seeing more than a few meters was impossible.

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With thirteen identified types of bioluminescent fungi commonly found within the tunnels, it was a lot easier than expected to find the type you were looking for. After all, while many mushrooms had a similar glow, the rarer variety had a slightly different hue, often coinciding with the names they had been given.

Though it didn't exactly look black, Ebony Glowshrooms emitted a mysterious purple light that made other things in the area glow with false bioluminescence. This was the method they used to try and camouflage themselves, but, so long as you knew how to identify the pattern on their shrouds, it was easy to pick out Ebony Glowshrooms among the star-like ocean of fungi.

The hardest part of collecting the coveted mushrooms was, as could be expected, venturing into the tunnels themselves. Most people were accustomed to fighting in open areas, so, to be forced into a confined network of tunnels and fight against monsters that could easily traverse the floor, wall, and ceiling, in equal measure, wasn't easy.

Eliza's Magic was almost useless within the tunnel system, forcing her to rely on her heavy crossbow, but, fortunately, Linnaeus' and Emilia's Blessing were easily adapted to fighting in confined areas.

Having lived most of his life fighting within confined alleys and navigating underground waterways, Linnaeus was like a fish being returned to the water. His small stature made it easy for him to bound around the tunnels without suffering a penalty to his Agility, and, while it ate into his reserves a bit, he could easily form a [Barrer] to block off sections of the tunnel system if too many enemies arrived.

Though she had never fought underground, Blessings related to water were exceptionally powerful in confined spaces. The Monster Ants had virtually nowhere to flee to and, though she far from the Level required to flood the cave system, Emilia's freezing attacks were doubly effective against the majority of Monster Ants, creatures that relied on hot and humid places to live comfortably.

The only one to really struggle with fighting in the tunnels was Krone as, after trying to steal the traits of the Monster Ants, he realized they didn't actually have [Night Vision]. Rather, they relied more on their sense of smell to navigate, revealing countless pheromone trails that made little sense to the burly warrior.

If Krone could learn to read the pheromone trails properly, Linnaeus felt it would provide them with an extreme benefit, but, as this wasn't exactly a reasonable expectation, he didn't both mentioning it. Instead, he had Krone watch their back, using his bulk and raw power to prevent any Ant from trying to ambush them.

Fortunately, they had yet to encounter any of the more troublesome variants, which were typically found much further in, so Krone wasn't suffering too much. Had they encountered actual Soldiers or Majors, Linnaeus had little doubt that his [Barrier Aura] would be put to the test.

While Krone could emulate the carapace of the Monster Ants, which reportedly had some resistance against the chemicals expelled by the Ants, it wasn't exactly wise to rely on such things. After all, no matter how many traits he borrows, Krone was still a humanoid, so, if he took acid spittle to the face, it would undoubtedly blind or suffocate him.

If his [Barrier Aura] proved ineffective against the Monster Ants, Linnaeus would have little choice but to reconsider their approach. Currently, they were a little too reliant on his Blessing and, while it had been useful in most situations, it would be foolhardy to assume this would always be the case...

Fortunately, at least for the time being, his Blessing was proving exceptionally useful as, despite their ability to traverse the walls and ceiling, the Monster Ants didn't have an easy way to circumvent his [Barriers]. They didn't actually seem to recognize them as an attack so, instead of trying to destroy them, they would often just pause in place, flicking the [Barrier] with their antennae as if they were confused.

Since the Monster Ants relied more on pheromone trails than their eyesight, Linnaeus assumed his [Barrier] effectively 'cut' the pheromone trail. While they would quickly latch on to a different trail, a momentary pause was all he needed to bury his spear into one of their weak spots. This also taught him that, if he cut off the antennae of the Ants, they were virtually blind within the tunnels and, as a result, they would either stop moving or indiscriminately attack anything that moved.

The person to benefit the most from this discovery was none other than Krone. It wasn't easy to swing around a large warhammer within the confined tunnel system so, after learning he could blind the Monster Ants, he began ripping off their antennae, to great effect.

With their primary sense robbed from them, the Monster Ants would rip each other apart, grappling each other while using their fierce mandibles to cut through the limbs of 'enemy' Ants. This resulted in Krone releasing a rare laugh, but, as he had been growing increasingly annoyed at his situation as the rearguard, even Eliza didn't mind his outburst...

Every time Linnaeus' Party stumbled across an area where the mushrooms glowed a distinctly purple color, he would do his best to seal off every access tunnel while Eliza dutifully harvested the requisite caps. They weren't just after Ebony Gloomshrooms, however, so it would take her several minutes to harvest and package everything. Emilia had tried to help, but, even with her powerful nose, she had a lot of trouble trying to distinguish between the different types of mushrooms.

With practice, Emilia was confident she would be able to identify the mushrooms, not only on sight, but, from a great distance as well. She could already smell where Monster Ants would appear from, so, with a bit of time, she would be able to track down individual herbs and mushrooms, preventing them from having to wander around aimlessly.

For this reason, Eliza tolerated Emilia's presence while she was trying to harvest, periodically forcing unusable caps towards the lingering Vanargandr for scent recognition and consumption. Since Emilia could eat virtually anything, she had effectively become Eliza's temporary disposal chute, destroying the evidence of her periodic failures.

---

Though their original intention had been to save time by collecting the rarer Ebony Glowshrooms, it took nearly six hours for Linnaeus' Party to retrace their steps and exit the subterranean system.

Upon surfacing, Krone could be heard releasing a heavy, audibly relieved, sigh. He didn't proactively complain, but, fighting underground hadn't been easy on him. Without his [Perception] and the little light cast off by the various fungal colonies, he would have been fighting completely blind. While he hadn't taken much physical damage, there was a certain psychological strain present when fighting under such stressful circumstances, so, seeing the sky overhead, he couldn't help but feel relieved.

Understanding his silent counterpart's anxieties, Linnaeus turned to Eliza and Emilia, stating in a voice he knew Krone would be able to hear, "We should avoid fighting underground too often. It might be different further in, but, along the periphery, the systems are too tight to fight freely."

Though she understood what Linnaeus was trying to do, it would be too obvious if none of them offered their input. Thus, in response to his statement, Eliza issued a ruminating hum before nodding her head and saying, "I'm not particularly fond of fighting in confined quarters, but, if we keep at it, I should be able to awaken the [Night Vision] Ability. It's a little annoying that only you and Emilia are able to see in the dark..."

Hearing Eliza's response, Emilia giggled playfully, her hand behinds her head as she mused, "Lin and I have a lot more in common than our [Night Vision]. Once he learns how to use the spear properly, we'll be able to bully all of our enemies together~."

Even if Emilia was playing along with their skit, Eliza's brow began to twitch in response to her biting remark. To make matters even worse, Emilia 'hid' behind Linnaeus, a cheeky smile on her face as she mischievously giggled.

Before the two girls could enter a spat, Linnaeus pointed out, "We should consider heading back to turn in our bounty. The other option is to hunt a few Monster Ants along the periphery, waiting until the sky begins to dim before our return. There are plenty of materials and Kindling to collect, even on the surface. Besides, I want to continue practicing my archery...will you help me out, Eliza?"

Hearing Linnaeus asking for her assistance, Eliza immediately felt better, dismissing Emilia's earlier words as she adopted a haughty smile and answered, "Of course. My own Skill is lacking, but, if we work together, I'm certain we can both improve rapidly~."

Without waiting for Linnaeus' response, Eliza began to pull him along by his wrist, seemingly with the intent to separate him from Emilia. As for the latter, her ears twitched a few times but, the smile on her face never faded away. Instead, she turned to Krone, saying, "We should catch up before they get themselves into trouble."

With her words finished, Emilia pulled out her spear and, with characteristic swiftness, pursued the retreating figures of Linnaeus and Eliza. This left Krone standing alone, his dark eyes revealing a mix of emotions before he ultimately released a profound sigh and began trudging after the agile trio...

---

Under Eliza's guidance, Linnaeus actually managed to obtain the [Archery] Skill before it was time for them to head back. She had been 'very' insistent on teaching him, obviously intent on making them have more in common with each other, so, with a concerted effort on his part, Linnaeus managed to advance the Skill to LV1. This provided no discernible difference in his accuracy, but, it could become one of the foundational Skills that provided him a considerable attribute increase with every Level.

Since he had the opportunity to increase his Skills, Abilities, and Magic without having to worry about increasing his Level, Linnaeus intended to take full advantage of it. While it might not seem like a good idea to have a variety of Skills, each requiring a serious effort to advance, the benefits they provided were too good to pass on. So long as he got them to LV20, they would provide bonus attributes with each Level, meaning he could, theoretically, reach a point where simply Leveling up made him more powerful than his peers.

Fortunately, Linnaeus had Eliza, Emilia, and even Krone to help him develop his Skills, so, by the time he returned to the Tower, there was a chance he would develop upwards of seven different Skills. At the very least, this was an additional seven attributes per Level and, if he managed to get them all to LV50, he would be earning double that. All he needed to do was put in the requisite amount of effort to improve, but, considering what was at stake, Linnaeus had more than enough motivation to reach the top...no matter the cost.